Tony Cocchiaro Address to the Constitutional Convention Old Parliament House, Canberra Wednesday 4 February, 1998 Tony Cocchiaro is an ARM Delegate from South Australia

Delegates and citizens, the time has arrived for a republic and for every citizen in Australia to share equally in the benefits and responsibilities of our nation. A previous speaker has said how wonderful it was to see so many delegates of non-English backgrounds at this Convention. Seeing that 30 per cent of Australians are of non-English speaking backgrounds you would expect to have a representation here of probably 50 people. I have done a bit of a headcount through our little catalogue and I can count only 12. There is clear under-representation here. Why is this so? I would like to explore some of the reasons.

I would like to start by talking to you of a couple of mainstream Australians - of which I am sure you are one, Sir - of a couple of real Australians; perhaps who the Prime Minister may have referred to when he spoke of the Australian battlers - that is, my parents. When my parents chose to leave their beloved Italy and migrate to Australia in 1956 it was to give my brother and me a better education and lifestyle. They left an impoverished postwar Italy for the opportunities available in a developing nation on the other side of the world.

Most likely it was impoverished because it just got rid of its monarchy. When we came we did not care if Australia was a monarchy or a republic; we were looking for economic success and security, in common with thousands of other migrants. So monarchy or no monarchy had nothing to do with the primary reason. But when we arrived here we loved this country. We became Australian citizens virtually the month after the minimum waiting period, which then was five years. My father started working on the third day of getting here and he stopped working at retirement.

In their 40 years of full Australian life, my parents have learned that, under the law of Australia here, they were equal to every other Australian. But did they feel equal? Do they feel that they are just as Australian as some others? They would never say so, but I strongly suspect no. They know and they have been told by all sorts of subtle messages and symbols that there are some Australians who are more equal than they are.

Their experiences of feeling less equal are no doubt repeated endlessly in Australians of Aboriginal, Asian, European and other non-English speaking back grounds. What is the one clear symbol that epitomises this sense of inequity? It is the fact that we still cling to the British monarchy. Our head of state is a symbol of who we are as a nation. Our head of state is not an Australian. She does not call Australia home; she does not vote or pay taxes in Australia; and her first allegiance is not to us and our nation but to the people of Britain - and so it should be. Britain is a country with other commitments, including those of the European Union. The power of this English royal symbol is immense.

My parents and millions of other Australians have got the message that they do not fully belong. Mr Bonython just confirmed for me that feeling. Admit, Mr Bonython, that deep down you are afraid to let go of the symbols of power and status of the former British Empire - the former empire. It has gone, kaput - sorry. You can hold onto it proudly in your heart, but please face reality. Every single Australian of whatever background wants success for this country and has a right to contribute and to help change this, our country. On an equal basis.

It is extremely important that we value everybody's contribution to this nation and that we reflect this in the symbolism of the head of state. Australia has a unique cultural heritage which is multicultural and inclusive. We must therefore have a head of state who is seen to represent Australians of all backgrounds, all religions and all walks of life - an Australian head of state.

Given the diverse nature of Australia's current population mix, it is important that all Australians see the embodiment of their national identity and aspirations reflected in a head of state who is truly Australian: someone who shares our rich, pluralistic culture; someone with whom the Australian people can identify whatever their background or history. From the four migrants of 1956, our family is now made up of 13 proud South Australians with a big investment in the future of this country.

The Australian republic is about the future. It is also about the reality of today. What sort of message are we sending to the world when our head of state is not an Australian? Are we going to be taken seriously or are we going to be still seen as a colony? We should be making our way in the world, making clear our independence, and each and every Australian should be able to aspire to be the head of state.

The Queen as our present head of state does not really represent Australia. When she travels the world, no-one believes she represents Australia. We should be enjoying the benefits of a head of state who can travel overseas on our behalf, promoting Australia and Australian exports. At present, our Governor-General only enjoys second-class status when representing us overseas.

He is the deputy. He is not the head of state. We need all the means we can muster to enhance our interests abroad, to aid the reduction of debt and the creation of job opportunities. The republic will facilitate a sense of equal ownership and belonging between indigenous, Anglo-Celtic, European, Asian and all other Australians. It is imperative that we establish our own Australian identity, one not dependent on the monarchy but one that comes from maturity so that we Australians can have the identity, stature and strength. We need identity not only abroad but also at home.

A clear Australian identity will give us unity out of and within Australia. We will have unity because we will be sharing one island continent and we will be sharing the same laws. But we will also have unity because we will be valuing cultural diversity, a fair go and achievement through hard work and determination. In this way we can think ourselves Australian. If we think Australian, act Australian and, above all, are Australian, then we can only come to one valid conclusion: we need to change our Constitution to reflect that fully and to become a republic.

The republic is about the future, a country in the forefront of multiculturalism, a country of information technology, of multimedia and education, of microsurgery and cranio-surgery. There is no doubt that the transition to a republic will send a strong message to Asia and the rest of the world as to who we really are.

What better time to send this message than the year 2000. It will be a new millennium. There will be the Sydney Olympics, when the eyes of the world will be focused on Australia. There will then be the new republic of Australia, a country fresh, clean and multicultural. It will be a country with respect for universal human rights and values, a country with a clear sense of a fair go, leading the world in removing barriers of race, ethnicity, culture, religion, language, gender and place of birth.

As you may expect, Australians descended from countries other than Britain react differently to the republic; it has been mentioned before. Many have come from countries where there has been a succession of governmental systems, such as monarchies, republics, different democracy forms and dictatorships. The monarchs were sometimes home grown and sometimes not. Many were just Queen Victoria's cousins. However, they all tended to live in and be nationals of their country.

For Australians of non-English speaking backgrounds, there is much more interest in the proposed structure of the new rather than a preoccupation with removing the old. There is no emotional bond. We do not have an emotional bond with the royal past to cloud our judgment or memories of school days marching to God Save the Queen. In discarding the monarchist trappings, an Australian republic will most certainly strengthen our ties with Britain. Both countries will be members of the Commonwealth of nations and both countries can respect each other as mature, fully independent nations with no hint of colonialism.

There is an important perception in many of our neighbouring countries that Australians, by clinging to the British monarchy, are still reflecting those neocolonial attitudes. This perception is contrary to Australia's professed wish to be treated as a fully mature member of our Asia-Pacific region. The old view of the ASEAN countries - what was it? - was of a closed society with the heritage of the White Australia policy. We were seen as an appendix of Asia and probably of as much use to them as that organ is to us.

It must be remembered that many countries in our region were also colonies. They are asking themselves, "Do Australians still identify with the colonisers of old, or is Australia ready to take its position in South East Asia and the world as a fully mature and independent nation?' We can fix these perceptions immediately by becoming a republic.

We need to value and encourage the self-worth of every Australian via their values and customs and respecting their heritage; that is, we need to fully accept the concept of multiculturalism within and under the umbrella of the overarching unity of shared experiences that we have in Australia. We need one common system of government, law and responsibility to this country, Australia. We need a common response to the land and its history and a common response to the traditions of our indigenous peoples.

We need one common English language while strongly encouraging multilingualism. Under this umbrella, we need to ensure that we all understand, respect and accept cultural diversity by supporting the cultures and languages of all Australians. I am personally keen to see a preamble to the Constitution which recognises popular sovereignty of the Australian people and the indigenous peoples as the original inhabitants with a culturally diverse but united and cohesive nation of citizens who have come from every corner of the globe. The preamble must recognise and value the rule of law, mutual respect, tolerance, culture and linguistic diversity within a multicultural society, with English as the main and national language.

I will explain it to you in this way, perhaps. In the last 97 years, Australia has matured from a colony to an independent country. But we have not completed the process to full independence. This last step is very important. If you are a monarchist or an inevitablist - which is even worse - don't be fooled. Australia needs to complete the century-long process to becoming a fully independent country as soon as possible.

Our forefathers organised the Commonwealth of Australia and relied heavily on the British parliament and monarchy. If you like, these two important structures supplied the scaffolding for our initial Constitution. Our nation is like a house: all painted and gleaming but with the scaffolding still in place.

Over the last 97 years, we have surely and gradually changed the colour scheme from British to Australian, but the process is not finished. Without the scaffolding we could not have done the job, so we are obviously grateful for it. The monarchists would say that the painting was done 100 years ago and it does not need renewing. The monarchists would say, "Even if repainting had been done, why go further and remove the scaffolding? It has worked well so far. It ain't broke." The inevitablists would say, "What's the rush?" They would accept that the scaffolding has to come down but conclude that it will eventually fall down sooner or later by itself and so why hurry.

Ladies and gentlemen, common sense tells us that we have to remove the scaffolding forthwith, safely and in an organised way, so that we can enjoy the look and feel of a fully independent country. The progression to a republic cannot be arrested, for to do so would be to impede the legitimate course of a nation towards complete independence and maturity. Denying Australia the opportunity of becoming a republic is also an admission of failure - that we have failed as a nation to achieve maturity. As Premier Olsen of South Australia told us on Monday, it is simply and inevitably time to move on. The Sydney Olympics, the centenary of Federation and the start of the third millennium AD offer a never-to-be-repeated opportunity for Australia to become a republic and to achieve our very own head of state.

We look forward to being the toast of the world at the Olympics 2000. It will be an Olympics - please remember this - that we won by emphasising the way that we value and celebrate diversity and multiculturalism. That is how we won it. We can be bright-eyed, with the real possibility of moving into adulthood and receiving international recognition by achieving our very own head of state by the new millennium. We can have every expectation of seeing a vibrant, worldly, mature, multicultural Australia confidently take its position on the world stage in the year 2000.

It is a dream package, if I can say it, for agencies that want to market us overseas. Australia can be a shining star for the third millennium. We can have identity, maturity, stature and strength. We must have an Australian citizen, one of us, as the head of state. Thank you.